Images (p. 1673)

Image by Mary Harrsch (Photographed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y.)

Perseus & Medusa by Canova

A marble statue of the pan-Hellenic hero Perseus wearing the cap of Hades (which rendered the wearer invisible) and holding the head of the Gorgon Medusa. (By Antonio Canova, 1804-6 CE, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).

Image by James Lloyd

Hermes of Praxiteles

This statue was uncovered during excavations in 1877 at the Temple of Hera at Olympia. The statue captures the myth where Hermes takes the baby Dionysos to the Nymphs, where on his way he rests upon a tree trunk, having thrown his cloak over...

Image by Mary Harrsch (Photographed at the Getty Villa, Malibu)

Cycladic Harp Player Figurine

A 28cm high, marble harp player from the Cycladic islands, 2700-2300 BCE. It is one of the earliest representations of a musician from the Bronze Age Aegean. (J.Paul Getty museum, Malibu, USA).

Image by Mary Harrsch (Photographed at the Getty Villa, Malibu)

Cycladic Head Sculpture

A marble head from a large Cycladic figure sculpture, 2600-2500 BCE. The head shows traces of pigment on the forehead - probably a diadem - and the nose and cheeks. (J.Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, USA).

Image by Xuan Che

Early Cycladic Figurines

Early Cycladic 'violin' figurines in marble, 3200-2800 BCE. The figurines represent a squatting female figure but their exact significance is not known. Most probably they represent a female fertility deity. (National Archaeological Museum...

Image by Mary Harrsch (Photographed at the Getty Villa, Malibu)

Cycladic Figurine c. 2400 BCE

A marble figurine from the Cycladic islands, c. 2400 BCE. The posture and incised details are typical of Cycladic sculpture and the swollen belly may suggest pregnancy. The function of the statues is unknown but they may represent a fertility...

Image by Mary Harrsch (Photographed at the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence)

Hercules Fighting the Centaur Nessos

A statue by Giambologna depicting Hercules fighting the centaur Nessos following the latter's attack on Hercules' wife Deianeira as they crossed the river Evenus. 1599 CE (Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence, Italy).

Image by Mary Harrsch (Photographed at The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore)

Mycenaean Stirrup Jar

A Mycenaean terracotta stirrup jar, c. 1200 BCE. The name derives from the resemblance of the handle to a double stirrup. The handle is often decorated with a false spout whilst the true spout is to the side and separate from the handle...